iLounge

1

What on earth ios going on? $100 for recording? And $50 for a media card reader? And pay extra for FM again? Belkin are taking a cue from Apple and extorting too much money for cheap hacked gadgets.

I am *this* close to changing my iPod for one of the new players with recording, FM, and compact flash built in! For one thing, even with all the extra hardware, they are half the price of a 3G 40GB! Wake up Apple smell the coffee and give us some real damn excuses to keep the faith!

I even read today that the butt-ugly but tiny Samsung Napster player has FM and recording. What the hell?

Posted by holykrap on October 16, 2003 at 10:24 AM (PST)

2

the media reader is $99 the voice recorder is $50

Posted by ckvelocity on October 16, 2003 at 10:26 AM (PST)

3

Why would anyone want the media reader?  Just buy higher capacity cards.  With my 256MB card, I can have 150 hi resolution picutres.

Posted by Yoyo on October 16, 2003 at 10:39 AM (PST)

4

Would have been nice if I could copy stuff from the ipod onto the card (ie films/tv shows etc) so I can store them on the ipod and watch them on my pda.

I’m I right in thinking its only one way?

Posted by Rich on October 16, 2003 at 10:43 AM (PST)

5

Now if it only had a screen so I could review my photos. I see value in it because what if I was on vacation? I went once, and I had to lug along a laptop and a card reader. This is smaller.

I still want a small screen, though. Perhaps they could make it so the iPod could access the files on the reader..? I know, that’s too much to ask for.

For that matter, how come the iPod’s screen itself couldn’t display the picture?

Posted by Durandal on October 16, 2003 at 11:01 AM (PST)

6

Yoyo, being a digital photographer, I know how easy it is to use 256 MB of space. The concept of 30 GB to fill is a very nice thought.

A 40X 1 GB CF card from a decent manufacturer is about $250 - that means for the price of my iPod, I could have 2 GB of CF cards, or 30 GB of iPod space. You do the math.

TM

Posted by Matrix on October 16, 2003 at 11:45 AM (PST)

7

On a day to day basis there isn’t any need for this, but on a vacation when I can’t get back to my computer to clear off my memmory sticks I think this is great!  The $100 price tag, on the other hand…

Posted by SPM on October 16, 2003 at 12:00 PM (PST)

8

So expensive :(
I would buy it directly if it was $50, but right now it’s just not worth it.

Everything Apple is so damn expensive :[
Most players have more extra features than iPod, but still iPod costs more.

I guess we have to pay $100 for the design and the Apple logo…but that’s worth it :D

Posted by Erty on October 16, 2003 at 12:25 PM (PST)

9

I’m getting tired of the attitude at Apple.

I walked into an Apple store to get a USB cable for my Ipod, and the kid working there acted as if he was a godfather dispensing favors.  Apple makes nice products, but it’s not worth dealing with the smugness and the control they are trying to exert over their users.  This Ipod will be the last Apple product I buy.

Posted by green on October 16, 2003 at 12:42 PM (PST)

10

If you want to see the photos, buy the products that Shutterbug posted links to.

If you don’t have a need for either of these products, nobody cares to read about you complaining about it.

These additions aren’t priced by Apple, they’re by Belkin - don’t forget that.

There was a reason you bought an iPod in the first place - why are you complaining about the features of other products now? Sell your iPod, get those other piece of #### products and get your ### off of these sites and forums - good riddance.

Posted by langleylou on October 16, 2003 at 1:16 PM (PST)

11

Uh, okay, so a kid working at a store gives you an attitude, and this is representative of all of Apple?  I love your logic, as a matter of fact, I’m going to do the same thing.  Guess I’ll never be doing business with Burger King, McDonald’s, Best Buy, or anyone else who hires a person who could have a bad day in their life.

Posted by random on October 16, 2003 at 1:24 PM (PST)

12

I have a G2 iPod and a Lyra and I can tell you that the Lyra is not “s h i t”. The iPod is good for music, the Lyra is good for music and video. Different toys. It’s not an either-or thing. But people expanding the iPod should ask themselves when it’s worth it, and when it’s better to just get something else. I mean, you could soup up a Civic with lots of add-ons, but no way is it going to turn into a Porsche.

But I do agree that Belkin are notorious for overcharging. $20 for a USB cable? $100 for a card reader? Come on!

Posted by nmiguy on October 16, 2003 at 1:52 PM (PST)

13

The logic is impeccable.  If you get bad service, why should you return?

It’s your analogy with Burger King and Mcdonald’s which does not hold.  We are not talking two-dollar burgers here; we are talking about products which cost several hundred dollars, and on top of which we are paying a premium for.  Furthermore, what makes you think that that person is having a bad day.  My point was simply that Apple is trying to promote a sense of elitism with their products.  Part of that is reflected in their sales’ attitude; but it is also apparent if you look at their entire marketing strategy.  You may like that; but frankly it turns me off as a consumer.  When I pay a premium for a product, I do expect better service and a less snobbish attitude.

Posted by green on October 16, 2003 at 1:59 PM (PST)

14

*sigh*; typical ch*ap-a** Wind*** users. Honestly, if you are here to talk about Apple’s sales and service policies, please write to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and perhaps instead add to what this topic is about—the Belkin storage devices? As people have suggested before, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it.

Hello?

Are these devices available immediately?

—————

Posted by reason on October 16, 2003 at 2:24 PM (PST)

15

Right, and your comments are contributing a heck of a lot to the discussion.

Mind these forums aren’t for Apple lovers only.  If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Posted by green on October 16, 2003 at 3:09 PM (PST)

16

I’ve been looking for sometime at potentially buying a dedicated image tank and Belkin comes along and lets me use the lefto over space in my 30GB iPod for that purpose. Brilliant. On my D100 I only get about 25 shots per 256 MB card. A real pain to lug a laptop around to offload.

Keep in mind that for the price you are also effectivley getting a firewire reader. These alone go for almost $100.

Posted by Canuck on October 16, 2003 at 5:39 PM (PST)

17

Don’t forget that these new Belkin devices are first-to-market products. In case of the Media Reader, Belkin had to engineer a completely new device, a multi-card, FireWire-based reader - something nobody else made until just a few months ago. I am 100% sure that the electronics used for the Media Reader are quite pricy, and subsequently their margins are not as large as you may believe. Same is true for the Voice Recorder, although it looks like a lean package that may enjoy a healthy margin for Belkin. Apple also always has influence on the pricing of what they sell in their stores. If you don’t want to pay premium prices, hang in there for a while and wait until they become avaiable in other places!
And don’t forget that you are using the Mercedes-Benz of MP3 players. Add any extras to the basic model, and you’ll pay a premium. Sad but true!

Posted by Bademeister on October 16, 2003 at 7:27 PM (PST)

18

GOT CONFIRMATION!!  APPLE ALREADY SHIPPED MY ORDER!!!!!

(pardon the caps)

Posted by alf on October 17, 2003 at 4:18 AM (PST)

19

will get it tomorrow!!!!

Posted by alf on October 17, 2003 at 4:19 AM (PST)

20

“don’t forget that you are using the Mercedes-Benz of MP3 players”

Have to take issue with your analogy. When I bought my Merc I was buying a superb machine with more horsepower, handling and, yes, weight, than most other cars. That doesn’t describe the iPod to me.

I think a closer analysis is:

ipod… Miata. Small, curvy, excellently designed, looks good around a woman, underpowered, doesn’t do very much.

Archos… Elantra. Cheap, functional, when it works it’s a deal, but the quality control is poor.

Karma… Mini Cooper. Small, chunky, full of bottle.

Zen… Mustang. A Muscle Car. Big, heavy, fast, does a lot but takes some handling.

iRiver… Lexus. Pricey, neato, nice lines, definitely not for everybody but uncompromised performance.

Samsung Napster… New Beetle. Gimmick car. Looks kind of interesting, but you get sick of it quickly.

Lyra… Prius Hybrid. Advanced, (does video and audio) but looks like a space-age device. Complexity and unfamiliarity scares people. Good mileage though.

and so on…

Posted by MercLover on October 17, 2003 at 7:24 AM (PST)